Process for making gymnasium floors fast



- 7.; ,jzi siazeo racemes FQRMAKING'QGYMN' Asi-U QQ A lJeoiliMyron flurtis,PrairierG WJll. I I new r; lill on'Maroh12,1941)" f j jSerial No. 734 233 =melt-111i; .;(Cl.11!7-r-1=.04v)

Fihe present inventlonlrelates rte zan improved produotiand :process jforemakingigymnasium' floors:

fast-sand-zto thefioor thus preduced.-:

--;l2n eplaying :athletic icon-tests on an indoor Zpl'aying afield, suchas a rgymna'sium floor, the players wearrootwear havingiruhber-iorcomposition soles and heels order .tozapreizent :marringi the inner andwto secure a better. ifootimg. *However; after:

much such floors-tend "to become slippery, so that even rubber footwear providesia relae timely insecure footing which'retar'ids the :start in a quick run or other play involving ziastaaction t. afiguires a :nrm rootin Heretofore it has been proposed to cover floors of gymnasium'swithvariousicompositions for the putpofi rof providing what is technlcally termed a ""fast" floor. Such compositions have the {disadvantage that they are expensive; require a relatively longdryin'g ti-m'e tdiose their *tackiness, or provide {a coating which ,hardens and becomes much scratched. and Whioh'ltlierefore vIhas =t'o berrenewed-z-by refinishing the flcior. Thereriewal of :such'a sea-tingle .expensivaaswtne old Locating,

and :ross bly the yarnish finisher-the floori'riflst be removed before .a new oating-can be applied.

Such removal'a'nd reappli'cation of the coating,

iii'r'thermorearequirs moreitinie than is availabl between successive uses of the floor -va ar es ample, between halves of a basketball game, or

even between afternoon and evening uses of the v covery that an oil thinly spread upon a gymnasium floor improves the traction qualities of such a floor for rubber or composition footwear, and provides a fast floor. In view of the general property of oils to impart slipperiness to a surface, it was not to be expected that the traction qualities of a floor would be improved in this manner.

The specific oil used in carrying out my invention in any given instance, will depend to some extent upon the nature of the rubber with which thepresent invention,-T1nay'-mentionthe yaripd the shoes used by the contestants iis s'hodfiflo obtain the desired traction qualities it is essential to use a thin coating "ordew of discrete small particles 0f the oil on mentor; and ease-sie e; I prefer to apply rea on in the former "a diluted mi eferably appiied as a fine mist or spra 'Ih'e a'r'iplicati'onof'tl'ie-oilin a thin r-dis' persee toe-nag is assistecl' hy -'dilutii"ig the oil Wth uitablethinhr 01 "solvent; preferably-on a? I is re'adily volatile and is n'on' toxic an no infiarnihable', and spraying the diluted upon the-fidordn a-thin'layer. HoWev'er,-"f6r plying-the oil spra /toe varnished 'flooryaflsol eht should permeated "which does nor=1iav sertenme erreot upon the varnished surface. excessive-1y ireavy e piieatioa or "oil is t a'voiddas his prodiic'es a sli'ppery fioorlamountoro l' o be usedconveniently maymede r trained- 'by trym'g" the floor after apps tion with rubber soledslioesuritil "t rreeneais ottemec; 'A -eo irig averag'i trian eboutonerenarouses avoided.

""As examples of "oils "suitable for carryin commercial mineral oils, aiiirnaltoils,f'fish"o I vegetabie oils; such as "corn or {maize oil,'.cotton seed o p anut oil, 'soya bean'oil, tiing oii ',-iins i oil and-castorbilfor other fatty oil. It'will observed that some of the above mentioned oils are drying oils, some are semi-drying, and some are classed as non-drying oils. In particular I prefer to employ the vegetable oils classed as non-drying oils, and of the non-drying oils, the preferred example is castor oil, as I have found this oil effective for a wider range and variety of rubber shod shoes. It will be understood that athletic shoes are shod with rubber or synthetic rubber compositions, and I have found that castor oil is effective for all the commercial rubber shod shoes of which I am aware.

Any suitable solvents or thinners may be employed with the oil, such as the commercial hydrocarbon solvents, alcohols, carbon tetrachloride, and the like, the latter solvent being preferred because of its high volatility, non-inflammability and relative absence of toxicity under the conditions of use. I

The treatment of a gymnasium floor which has become slippery, according to the present invention, results in greatly increasing the traction qualities of the floor by increasing the adhesive properties of the rubber shod shoes worn in using the floor. The floor is ready for use immediately after treatment, although in some instances a short time may be allowed for evaporation and dissipation of the solvent. for the improvement in traction qualities of the treated floor is due to the absorption of the oily dew by the rubber soles or heels of the footwear, the quantity of oil absorbed not being great enough to cause more than a slight softening of the exposed surface of the footwear.

As rapidly as the softened rubber wears away,

the previously unexposed rubber picks up minute quantities of oil from the floor, so that always a slightly softened rubber surface is in contact with the floor. Probably also during use, the floor becomes thinly coated with a mixture of rubber and oil which presents a dry appearance, and this Example A mixture is prepared from three parts by volume carbon tetrachloride and one part castor oil, commercial grade, which may be natural oil or blown. This mixture is sprayed upon a gymnasium floor, which may be a, wood varnished or unvarnished floor, in a thin layer, using about one third to one half pint of the mixture to about four thousand square feet of floor, which produces a coating'averaging about four millionths to six millionths of'an inch in thickness. The floor now is ready for use, or if desired, a time interval may be allowed for evaporation of the carbon tetrachloride. When the floor is used by contestants wearing rubber shod gymnasium shoes, the traction of the floor is greatly increased over the untreated floor, the floor becoming what is technically called a fast floor. This property of the floor is retained for several hours use, and can be renewed when required without first cleaning thefloor.

.During the course of use, some or all of the coating may be dissipated, especially in those parts-of the floor which have been used most, sothat it may become necessary to renew the coat before each period of use, or at intervals while the floor is in use. Because the floor is I believe the reason ready for use immediately after the coat is applied, it is apparent that the coat may be applied during intermissions in the progress of a game. Furthermore, as the coating builds up, the floor acquires a wax-like finish, clue to the accumulation of oil and rubber thereon and the polishing action that occurs in use, which enhances the beauty of the floor and assistsin protecting the floor. Excessive accumulation of rubber on the floor can be removed readily by any of the usual floor cleaning methods, and the oil assists in making the rubber readily removable.

Various modifications of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. The above example therefore is to be taken as illustrating rather than limiting the invention, unless otherwise indicated herein.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

The process of making a wooden gymnasium floor fast to rubber shod shoes in action on the floor, which consists in spraying said floor, in the form of a fine mist with a solution consisting of a highly volatile, organic, non-toxic solvent in major amount and a non-drying vegetable oil in minor amount, sufficient to deposit, after volatilization of the solvent, a thin filmfhaving an average thickness of less than one ten-thousandth of an inch of discrete oil particles, to afford softening of the soles and heels of shoes in action on the floor, and to prevent slippage while in use on the floor.

VCECIL MYRON CURTIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS vol. IV (1939),page 191. 

